Marian students have fun with facts

Quiz Bowl members have a blast while learning.

Quiz Bowl members have a blast while learning.

December 07, 2005|LAUREEN FAGAN Tribune Staff Writer

Marian High School students pulled off a victory against Penn last week, one that made their coach proud of their Quiz Bowl showing. "I thought the kids were fantastic in their performance," said Ken Andrzejewski, chair of Marian's science department and coach for the varsity squad. "They did a phenomenal job." They don't have a winning record this year, but that doesn't trouble the students who enjoy playing for the fun of it and share the camaraderie of being part of the team. "I've been on Quiz Bowl since I started here at Marian," said 18-year-old Laurie Griesinger, a daughter of Joe Griesinger and Barb Keith. "I like people who do Quiz Bowl," the senior from South Bend said, "and I like learning. It's a fun time." Literature is her strongest suit, with grab-bag questions related to pop culture a pretty safe bet for Laurie, too. Not so for Paul Baranay, 17, a junior from Niles and son of Peter and Nancy Baranay. "Mythology, English and computers to some degree," Paul said of his strengths. "My history and geography are weaker." That's OK, though, because those are precisely the strengths of Nick Deranek. "After my first meet I really enjoyed working out with the team," said Nick, a 17-year-old junior who joined the Quiz Bowl squad just this year. "I've always just been fascinated by geography, since I was a little kid," said the South Bend resident, a son of Ralph and Sue Deranek. "I like reading maps." And as Marian's Quiz Bowl squad practiced for its meet against Adams High School, it was 17-year-old Adam Langenbrunner who figured he'd be handling a lot of the science questions. "I'm interested in science and learning and how things work," said Adam, a junior from Mishawaka who says he's not so good at the whole math thing. "It looked interesting," he said of Quiz Bowl. Adam, a son of Mike and Angie Langenbrunner of Mishawaka, is in his third season on the Quiz Bowl team. Deb Conn, Marian's head librarian and coach for the junior varsity, said 27 students were participating at the start of the academic year. "There's a couple that floated in and out." Conn said the greatest challenge is trying to make sure everyone listens and learns. "And we always learn something new," she said, laughing at an inside joke from the literature category. "Even James Fenimore Cooper." Staff writer Laureen Fagan: lfagan@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6344